Texas Rangers Top 30 Prospects

February 12, 2024

The 2024 Preseason Top 30 lists are built around the idea of certainty and future Role. Similar to industry projection systems such as Future Value (FV), Overall Future Potential (OFP) and Grade, Role is a way to describe to what degree a player will add value to his organization at peak.

Our scale is a bit more conservative than other grading systems. We take into account recent seasonal performance, proximity to impact, metric/data analysis and industry conversations to build a case for the most likely outcome for any given player.

It is important to note these Role labels are fluid and can change as a player moves up the developmental ladder. It is not uncommon for a player to change his role projection over the span of even one month. Players jump from a Role 35 to a Role 40 quite quickly.

Things like mechanical adjustments and physical maturation can alter a player’s projection seemingly overnight. Players change. Keep that in mind.

Below is our Role chart used to place future projection on players.

ROLEDESCRIPTION
20No organizational value. Non-prospect.
30Organizational value, filler. Likely peaks at Triple-A or below.
35Potential up-and-down, Quad-A prospect. Has some tools. Development necessary to secure prolonged MLB role.
40Back-up at MLB level. No. 5 starter on non-competitive team. Depth.
45Potential starter on contender. Bench player for championship-level team.
50Starter on a championship-level team. Lacks star ceiling. Steady. Potential No. 4 starting pitcher.
55Potential all-star. Some impact. Above average big-league regular. Mid-rotation starter on a contender.
60All-star level player. Impact. Middle-of-the-order bat. No. 2 starter on good team.
70Perennial all-star. Will contend for seasonal awards. Potential MVP/Cy Young upside. No. 1 starting pitcher. Ace.
80Hall of Fame upside. Generational. MVP/Cy Young Favorite some years. Organizational pillar who can carry an entire franchise at times.

You will not find players with a sub-50 Role on our Top 100 Prospect List. You are also unlikely to find any sub-35 Role players on a Top 30 board. Generally, organizations will have at least 30 players with big-league projection.

All rankings and roles by Joe Doyle
Player notes by Jason A. Churchill

The Rangers lack depth, but they have more than made up for it the past year or two with impact prospects at the big-league level, including Josh Jung and Evan Carter last season.

Their first-round draft picks have been boom or bust the past five years, but they’ve done some damage in the second, third, and fourth rounds to make up for some of the Round 1 misses.

While those misses have been with college pitching, there are still some quality rotation candidates pushing their way toward the upper minors and the general development success is more than covering the bases.

RANKPLAYERPOSROLE
1Wyatt LangfordOF60
2Evan CarterOF60
3Sebastian WalcottSS/3B55
4Justin Foscue2B50
5Brock PorterRHP50
6Dustin HarrisOF50
7Owen WhiteRHP45
8Cameron Cauley2B/SS45
9Kumar RockerRHP45
10Caden ScarboroughRHP45

Langford represents a potential third above-average-to-plus regualar in less than two years. It’s a plus hit tool with plus power that likely leads to 30-35 homers, and adequate or better athletic tools combining for one of the elite prospects in the game.

The right-handed batter witll hit with authority from his extreme pull side to right-center. Many scouts believe Langford was the best player in the 2023 Draft, and is the best hitting prospect in baseball entering 2024.

Carter debuted late last summer and is likly the club’s centerfielder for the next several years, flanked by Langford on one side and, in the short-term at least, Adolis Garcia on the other.

The 21-year-old raced through the minors led by a plus hit tool and he made an impact immediately upon arrival. More to come in 2024.

Porter is the club’s top arm, sitting 93-97 mph to set up a truly plus changeup and chance at an average or better slider.

He’s just 20, but there is some reliever risk due to firmly below-average control. The Rangers likely remain patient with him for a while with mid-rotation or better upside as the payoff.

Scarborough was the Rangers’ sixth-round pick last July, entering the season a 6-foot-5 ball of projection with a relatively high floor for a prep signing.

He’s up to 95 mph with three projectable secondaries, including a knee-buckling curveball.

RANKPLAYERPOSROLE
11Paulino SantanaOF40
12Jack LeiterRHP40
13Aaron ZavalaOF40
14Anthony GutierrezOF40
15Gleider Figuereo3B35
16Aidan CurryRHP35
17Emiliano TeodoRHP35
18Izack TigerRHP35
19Abimelec Ortiz1B35
20Yeison MorrobelOF35
21Skylar HalesRHP35
22Cole WinnRHP35
23Mitch BrattLHP35
24Chandler PollardSS35
25Zak KentRHP35
26Jose CorniellRHP35
27Max AcostaSS35
28Josh StephanRHP35
29Julian BrockC35
30Danyer CuevaSS35

Leiter, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, still throws hard and flashes a plus slider, and his curveball and changeup remain potential major-league offerings, too, but he’s been unable to throw strikes consistently, and additionally his fastball command is poor.

Too many of his slider are non-competitive, and he’s been susceptible to the home run, too. Still, he’s a plus athlete and touches 98 mph with a heater also boasting ride and natural sink.

The near-consensus in the industry entering 2024 is Leiter is future power reliever, but in such a role he could help the Rangers sometime this coming season.

Zavala should be able to hit and field a corner outfield spot, but his attack plan is not conducive to more than fringey power. His swing is engineered for line drives and using the whole field, which is exactly what he did at Oregon and his first two years in pro ball.

He struggled a year ago, both with velocity and the chase, racking up uncharacteristic strikeout numbers. Zavala likelt returns to Double-A in 2024 looking to get back to what he’s always been: a hitter.

Bratt lacks physical projection as a 6-foot-1, 190-pound 20-year-old entering his third year in pro ball, but he throws strikes with four offerings, and occasioally gets the four-seamer to 95 mph.

Stephan carries some projection into the new season, but is already 91-95 mph with deception, sink, and armside ride, setting up an average slider and changeup. It’s a mid-rotation ceiling, but reaching it requires more from the breaking ball.

Brock is a catcher with arm strength, athleticism, and good bat speed. It’s a power-over-hit profile for now, but quick hands and a projectable swing path may offer more consistent contact as he develops. Whether he’s any kind of big-league factor remains to be seen, as there’s no true standout tool and he starts 2024 at age 22 without an inning of pro experience.

Joe Doyle
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